1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and method for directing and isolating vibrations to a designated person situated: on a support surface without disturbing any other person in the vicinity, including another person situated on the same support surface, said vibrations for awakening, alerting, or warning a designated person when a predetermined condition has been detected or for massaging the designated person.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is most common to use an audible alarm to awaken or alert an individual of the occurrence of an event or a predetermined condition. However, where two or more persons are sleeping or resting in close vicinity, and only one of the persons desires to be awakened at a predetermined time or by other circumstances, a quiet alarm is needed. It has been suggested to utilize vibrations rather than audible sounds. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,460,133 describes the use of vibrations to awaken an individual without disturbing others in dormitories and in sleeping quarters for military and naval forces. According to that patent, a vibrator is placed under cushions or under a mattress to awaken the one person sleeping on the mattress. Other suggestions of a vibration mechanism for a bed are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,351 (water bed), U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,502,264 and 5,076,260. However, when it is desired to awaken or alert only one of two people sleeping on a bed, vibrating the bed as described in these patents would not achieve the objective, since both persons in the bed would be aroused by the vibration.
Another approach that has been suggested is to associate or attach the source of vibration to the person designed to be awakened. This could have the effect of reducing the vibrations from affecting another person on the same support medium. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,600 describes a vibrating device incorporated in or under a pillow. Such a device can be uncomfortable during sleep and may be hazardous, particularly if it has a hard-wire connection. Another disadvantage of such a device is that as a result of a person's normal movements during sleep, the pillow can be dissociated from the person or disconnected. Another example of a device attached to the person is a vibrating earpiece, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,692. Again, this type of vibrating device is uncomfortable, can be dislodged during sleep and depends on the user remembering to install the ear piece for each use. Furthermore, due to its size, it can be easily misplaced. U.S. Pat. No. 5,686,882 describes a vibrating device worn on a person's wrist. The disadvantages of this device are similar to those of the earpiece device, in that individuals may find such devices uncomfortable to wear, susceptible to dislodgment while sleeping and may be forgotten when going to sleep.
Therefore, there is a need for an alarm or alerting device that is capable of directing vibrations to the targeted individual on a support medium without disturbing another in the vicinity or on the same support medium, where such device is convenient, cost-effective, comfortable and reliably utilized.